Islamophobia: A Legacy of Prejudice in Western Literature
Abstract:
Muslims and the Middle East have been demonized for centuries, a process which began not with the age of imperialism, but rather with the first contact between Europe and the Middle East. The first real scholarly efforts to consolidate the stereotypes about the Middle East began in the early modern period, most notably with Renaissance humanists and the plays that followed their work. Their was a concerted effort and a system of language that sprung up, much like the Orientalism that Said describes and contends only came about in the age of empire. The stereotypes of the early modern period were carried into the imperial era and applied, the imagined made real. The stereotypes typified in the 1500s can still be seen today. In trying to solve the issue of Islamophobia, we must go back to the roots.